Two Minutes With Craig Anderson

We caught up with Ando to check in on what he’s been up to, his new sunglasses collaboration with Electric, parties at his epic pad ‘The Warehouse’ and what’s next on the cards.

Ando, thanks for taking time to sit down and have a chat!No worries, thanks for having me.

Have you been surfing much?I have. It’s been a busy year. I feel like every year I make plans to keep months open to go and do different things, but it always ends up pretty full on. This year especially has been a busy one. At about this time last year I had surgery on my left knee (for the second time). They repaired the meniscus cartilage which took a really long time to heal. I only started feeling normal in the water again around March/April this year. By then, Kai’s (Neville) film ‘Cluster’ had been in the works for a good 6-8 months, so I felt I had to play a bit of catch up; a few trips to west Oz, a bit of time down the the south coast and south Oz, 2 months in Indo, a couple of weeks in the states, Guam, Europe… It’s been busy.

You have designed a pair of sunglasses with the guys at Electric, TXOKO by Craig Anderson. Tell us about the collaboration… It has been a while in the making. It’s been a fun project to work on with Josh Hartley (Electric’s sunglasses designer) and the whole team at Electric. I didn’t know a lot about eyewear… design, material, shape, fit – there really is a lot to it. Eventually, we got to a place where we were all happy to release them. It’s difficult with design because its all been done before. But, I believe these sunglasses are unique in their own way – they look good and feel comfortable on!

You’ve recently signed with skate predominate brand Huf. How did this come to fruition? It happened through friends of friends. Damon Way (founder and owner of DC Shoes) who I’ve known for a while introduced me to Keith Hufnagel (founder and owner of Huf) and we started hanging out. Dylan (Rieder) and Austyn (Gillette) also skate for Huf and I’m good friends with them. Somehow it all came together. It was really cool and I’m real psyched to ride for them! I was in Guam a few weeks back with the whole Huf skate team, including Keith. They had just done a few week tour through Asia and Guam was their last stop. I got to hang out with everyone for a few days, met the whole team watch them skate their last demo (and party for a few days haha). It was super cool to see how they all roll – everyone is super tight and the whole team just seemed like it meshed so well.

We’ve heard about where you live, ‘The Warehouse’. Tell us what it’s all about?Yep, I’ve been in there for a few years now. It’s a fun place to come back to. I live with a few friends and it’s in the centre of Newcastle and close to everything. We have a mini half pipe. There are always people over. It’s a pretty fun place to hang out and mess around.

Invites open?Yeah, come and hangout. There are parties on most weekends.

Give us a run-down of a day in the life of Craig Anderson?Well it depends… If I’m on the road, we’re usually up pretty early hunting waves, followed by coffee, surf, eat, surf, beer, dinner, and sleep. If I’m home I’ll sleep in. My room has no windows so it’s hard to get out of bed unless the waves are good. When I’m up, I walk 20 meters around the corner to a super good coffee shop, sit around and have breakfast, and do a loop around the beaches to check the waves and have a little paddle with some friends. Some days I’ll head up and down the coast to surf.

You’ve certainly clocked up the travel miles over the years. Have you got a favourite spot?I like staying busy. It’s nice to go home and see friends and family, but for now I’m happy being away almost all year round. My favourite place to hangout is LA. I have a lot of good friends that live there and they are all doing cool stuff; art, photography, clothing and accessory brands etc. It’s just a fun, exciting place to hang. But when it comes to surfing, I like hanging down the south coast of Oz – the people are friendly waves are good, meat pies and beer.

Where haven’t you surfed that you’re keen to get to?I wanted to go to Ireland this year after France, but we missed the boat. We were pretty much too lazy – hungover, drinking more wine and eating far too much cheese.

Who’s your favourite crew to be in the water with?I’d say the guys that roll in Kai’s click; Dion, Dane, Chippa, Creed, Noz, BG. That gang is always fun to surf with and push you to hit bigger sections.

Are you working on any new projects? Sliced Pudding with Dion and Creed was epic!I have a HUF clip dropping soon. I’ve been busy working on Cluster for a while now, so that’s about it.

Are you jumping on the bandwagon for the 2014/2015 Hawaii season?Mm I’m not sure at this stage, maybe late in the season. I’ll definitely stay away for the next month or two. It’s a super intimidating place at this time of year – the people, the waves, the vibe. Its a tough to have fun, but the thought of 1/1000 chance of getting a bomb out pipe might be enough to get me back there.

What do you do when you’re not in the water?Emails, coffee, skate a little, clean the warehouse (it’s always a mess) and hang out with friends and family.

What beats get you amped before a session?I have the most erratic taste in music but before surfing maybe post punk/minimal synth – Cccandy, The Soft Moon, Eleven Pond, Absolute Body Control etc…

As a grom, who did you look up to and why?Rob Machado, Mark Richards and Matt Hoy – they rule.

Do you see yourself following in the footsteps of the older generation of surfers and working behind the scenes with your sponsors?I think once I’m out of the game, I’ll find a different line of work. I’ll always surf, but would like to spend time making things – building, carpentry, wood work… Something like that.

Sleep with one eye open because Electric‘s TXOKO by Craig Anderson will be available on SurfStitch.com in the coming weeks.